Dear sailor friends, I recently saw a lovely 36 foot Formosa Ketch I am dreaming to acquire and get sparkling again. The woodwork needs some care. The hull looks sound as far as I can see above water. But before I get the boat hauled out, do you know of any problems with this boat, that was apparently built in 1980 in Taiwan, with 1-inch-thick fiberglass. Do you know anything about this type of boat, since I found no information in all my books and very little on the web. Thank you, Helmut S
Hi Helmut: With any boat that is 25 years old you have to do a careful survey. These vessels were built at the beginning of the boat building learning curve in Taiwan and the Taiwanese vessels in general of that era had many quality issues. These may have been corrected by previous owners. Or they may be waiting for you. Take care!
One area to look at in detail is the quality of the timber and plywood. There used to be a lot of low-grade glue in some of the ply and structures and dry rot problems.
In the end, it comes down to price, condition, and how much time (or money) you are willing to put into the project–and if they balance out. Good Luck – Steve
Posted by Steve Dashew (November 30, 1999)
